Governments of Canada and B.C. Announce Agreement to Help British Columbians with Disabilities

Source:

newsroom.gov.bc.ca

Source Date:

Friday, April 25, 2014

Focus:

Institution and HR Management

Country:

Canada

Created:

Apr 28, 2014

VANCOUVER - The governments of Canada and British Columbia have reached an agreement that will help British Columbians with disabilities gain the skills and experience they need to get jobs. The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Employment and Social Development, and Stephanie Cadieux, British Columbia's Minister of Children and Family Development, on behalf of Don McRae, British Columbia's Minister of Social Development and Social Innovation, made the announcement today.

The renewed Labour Market Agreement for Persons with Disabilities (LMAPD) is designed to improve employment prospects for Canadians with disabilities and better meet the needs of Canadian businesses.

Under this agreement, the Government of Canada will provide over $30.7 million per year to British Columbia - a contribution that will be matched by the Province.

As announced in the Economic Action Plan, this new generation of LMAPDs represents a federal investment of $222 million per year in the provinces and territories. This will allow provinces and territories flexibility to determine how to best address the needs of Canadians with disabilities, while helping Canadian businesses benefit from their skills and talent. With new requirements including mandatory employer involvement and improved reporting of outcomes, the new LMAPDs will better connect Canadians with disabilities with available jobs.

In addition, the governments of Canada and British Columbia recently signed several agreements to help connect Canadians with available jobs. One of these is the new Canada Job Grant delivered through the new Canada-British Columbia Job Fund, which will provide British Columbia with $65 million annually. The Targeted Initiative for Older Workers was signed at the same time, and will give British Columbia more than $8.7 million over three years. Also signed was a memorandum of understanding on ensuring that British Columbians have the skills needed to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities in the BC resource economy.